Steel & MetalsSuppliers, Distributors & Wholesalers

Structural and miscellaneous steel flows from mills to service centers to fabricators, and most contractors never buy from a mill directly. Mills like Nucor and Steel Dynamics roll beams, plate, and coil in heat-lot quantities; service centers such as Ryerson, Kloeckner, and regional independents buy those heats, warehouse them, and resell in job quantities with processing. A GC buying loose angle and tube shops the service center counter, while structural packages go through an AISC-certified fabricator who buys the raw shapes, details them, and delivers erected-ready assemblies. Rebar follows its own channel through rebar fabricators who shear, bend, and tag by placement drawing.

Carbon steel prices per hundredweight (CWT) or per ton, with hot-rolled coil serving as the benchmark index the rest of the market shadows. Service centers add processing charges per cut, per bend, or per hole on top of material. Established shops get net-30 with a signed credit app, and steady buyers negotiate scrap-surcharge caps on recurring orders. Through 2026, Section 232 tariff coverage has kept domestic pricing elevated and volatile, with hot-rolled coil swinging on import quota news, so quote validity windows of 24 to 72 hours are common on plate and beam.

The paperwork matters as much as the price in this category. Every heat should arrive with a mill test report (MTR) documenting chemistry and yield strength, and a supplier who cannot produce MTRs on demand should be disqualified for structural work. Confirm the service center can hold your tolerance on saw cuts, ask what their standard is for rust and pitting on warehoused stock, and check whether they run their own flatbeds or broker freight, since brokered loads slip. For fabricated packages, verify AISC certification, shop drawing turnaround time, and galvanizing or paint-shop lead times before you commit a sequence schedule.